Unraveling the mystery of Seahenge: Wooden structures were built off the Norwich coast 4,000 years ago in a bid to bring back warmer weather during an extremely cold spell, research claims
When it comes to the mysteries of Britain’s Neolithic past, Stonehenge is probably the structure people are most likely to recognize.
But archaeologists are now beginning to unravel the secrets of an even stranger structure, built off the coast of Norwich 4,000 years ago.
Researchers believe ‘Seahenge’ and a second nearby monument were built by the British during a period of extreme cold, in an attempt to bring back warm weather.
Dr. David Nance, an archaeologist at the University of Aberdeen, states that Seahenge was built as a cage designed to extend the summer by allowing a young cuckoo to sing.
Dr. Nance says, “Both monuments are best explained as having different functions and associated rituals, but with a common purpose: to put an end to the extremely cold weather.”
Scientists believe Seahenge (pictured) may have been built as part of a ritual effort to bring back warmer weather and extend summer
The wooden circle known as Seahenge consists of 55 split oak trunks arranged in a 7.5 meter wide oval, surrounding a ‘horseshoe’ of five larger oak posts, centered around an inverted oak stump.
Seahenge, or Holme I as it is scientifically known, was first discovered by archaeologists in 1998 near the village of Holme-next-the-sea, Norfolk.
The structure consists of 55 split oak logs arranged in an oval 7.5 meter section, surrounding a ‘horseshoe’ of five larger oak posts, centered around an inverted oak stump.
Researchers also found a second wooden circle, called Holme II, built next to it – making these the only known British monuments to have been built together.
The structures were buried beneath the salt marsh near the beach for thousands of years before eventually being exposed to erosion.
Despite what the final location suggests, ‘Seahenge’ is actually a misnomer, as the circles would not have been located near the water.
Seahenge was originally built on an area protected from the sea by sand dunes and mudflats.
Archaeologists suggest the structure mimics the mythological ‘imprisonment of the cuckoo’, in which a young cuckoo (pictured) is imprisoned to make it sing and prevent the end of summer.
Both circles were discovered at Holme-next-to-Sea near Old Hunstanton in Norwich, Norfolk (pictured). Holme is the only place in Britain where prehistoric timber has been found and it is believed that the tree used to make the two circles was felled at the same time
Over thousands of years, the swamp turned into a thick layer of peat, leaving the wooded posts in remarkably good condition.
Yet, as with Stonehenge, little is known about why this structure was built or what role it might have played in people’s lives.
Because almost nothing remains of the people who built Seahenge, it is extremely difficult for archaeologists to find concrete evidence about its use.
To try to bridge that four-thousand-year gap, Dr. Nance combined the archeology of the site with astronomical predictions, environmental data and local folklore.
Previous studies have suggested that the structures were built to commemorate the deaths of individuals or to perform celestial burials where the dead would be placed in the circle to be consumed by scavenging birds.
The structure was controversially removed and taken to the nearby Lynn Museum after excavation in 1999
Archaeologists say the ring was built during a period of extreme cold and was designed to mimic the ‘bowers of the underworld’ where the cuckoo, associated with summer, would supposedly flee in winter
However, Dr. Nance’s research suggests that these structures may have been built in an attempt to extend the summer.
He explains: ‘We know that the period in which they were built 4,000 years ago was a prolonged period of lower atmospheric temperatures and harsh winters and late springs, which put pressure on these early coastal communities.
“It seems very likely that these monuments had the common intention of putting an end to this existential threat, but they had different functions.”
Dr. Nance points to the structure of Seahenge as evidence that it may have been used as part of a ritual related to the ‘myth of the trapped cuckoo’.
Surviving folklore from the area tells of how a young cuckoo was placed in a thorn bush and ‘walled in’ to extend the summer.
Seahenge’s construction aligns with the sun at the summer solstice, suggesting it may have had a ritual purpose
Holme II (pictured) is even larger than Seahenge and would have aligned with the sunrise on Samhain, the pagan festival that gives us Halloween, in 2049 BC.
‘Summer solstice was the date when, according to folklore, the cuckoo, which symbolizes fertility, traditionally stopped singing, returned to the Otherworld and with it the summer passed,’ explains Dr Nance.
‘The dating of the Seahenge timbers showed that they had been felled in the spring, and it was considered very likely that this timber was aligned with the sunrise on the summer solstice.’
In his article, published in Geojournalsuggests Dr. Nance that the shape of Seahenge was designed to mimic the ritual enclosure of the cuckoo.
Holme II, which would probably have been built in the autumn of the same year, may have tried to achieve the same goal using a different technique.
The second circle is twice the size of Seahenge, measuring 13.2 meters in diameter, and consists of an outer ring of oak posts surrounding two large box-like beams.
Holme II could have been the resting place for ‘sacred kings’ sacrificed to the pagan goddess of Venus (pictured), which was often associated with the cuckoo, as seen in this slab, built between the first centuries BC and ad.
While Seahenge aligns the summer solstice, astrological predictions suggest that this circle will begin in 2049 B.C. would be on par with the sunrise on Samhain – the pagan festival that gives us Halloween.
This date is particularly important because Venus would have been visible in the sky this year.
Dr. Nance says this could be a connection with the legend of the ‘Holy King’ recorded in Iron Age Ireland and Northern Britain.
These were members of the community who would be sacrificed in an attempt to appease the goddess of Venus.
He adds, “There is evidence that they were ritually sacrificed every eight years during Samhain (now Halloween), coinciding with the eight-year cycle of Venus.”
If that were true, the coffin-shaped beams could have been used to hold the bodies of the sacrificed, in an effort to put an end to the short summers and long winters.